Committee Discusses DOE Science and Technology Priorities
(Washington, DC) – Today the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing to examine the Department of Energy’s (DOE) science and technology priorities and discuss the Administration’s fiscal year (FY) 2015 budget request for the Department of Energy’s research and development portfolio. Testifying before the Committee was the Honorable Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.
In her opening statement, Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) praised the Department’s budget requests for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), noting that they would receive a much-needed boost to advance the development of clean energy technologies that will be vital to our national security, our economy, and the environment in the decades to come. However, Ms. Johnson and Members from both parties raised concerns regarding the request for the Office of Science, which would receive an increase below the rate of research-related inflation, effectively a cut in its purchasing power.
Ms. Johnson said, “As we all know, the Office of Science is the largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the country, and it operates more than 30 national scientific user facilities whose applications go well beyond energy innovation. Our nation’s top researchers from industry, academia, and other federal agencies use these facilities to examine everything from new materials that will better meet our military’s needs, to new pharmaceuticals that will better treat disease, to even examining the fundamental building blocks of the universe. Given this critical role in our nation’s innovation enterprise, I look forward to having a productive discussion about the justification for the Administration’s proposed funding for the Office.”
Secretary Moniz said of the President’s energy agenda, “As the President said in the State of the Union address, ‘the all-of-the-above energy strategy I announced a few years ago is working, and today, America is closer to energy independence than we’ve been in decades.’ This strategy is driving economic growth and creating jobs, while lowering our carbon emissions. We are producing more natural gas in the United States than ever before. And for the first time in twenty years, we are producing more oil at home than we import from the rest of the world. We have also made remarkable progress in clean and renewable energy. In the last five years, we have more than doubled the amount of electricity we generate from wind and solar. At the same time, we are making the investments that will enable coal and nuclear power to be competitive in a clean energy economy, and aggressively advancing efficiency for its economic and environmental benefits.”
Democratic Members discussed a number of issues including the importance of environmental and climate change research carried out by the Office of Science, support for STEM programs at DOE, the status of the Technology Commercialization Fund and the development of a new technology transfer strategy, solar panel manufacturing and China’s impact on the industry, research into algae-based biofuels, support for marine and hydrokinetic energy research, exascale computing, advanced nuclear reactors, and support for inertial fusion energy R&D.
Ms. Johnson addressed assertions made by some that by investing in clean energy technologies, DOE is “picking winners and losers.” She said, “We have seen how government research can pay off when it comes to energy development. DOE-supported research was key to the development of high-efficiency gas turbines for coal plants, nuclear reactors developed at federal labs, and the directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing practices that have led to the shale gas boom of today. But we should remember that those achievements required decades of federal investment, the overwhelming majority of which was focused on fossil and nuclear energy. I continue to strongly support research to make today’s technologies safer, cleaner, and more efficient, but we also have to find the greatest value for our investment of taxpayer dollars. Today it is the emerging energy technology sectors that can most benefit from government support. That is where the priorities set by the Fiscal Year 2015 budget request come into play.”
Ms. Johnson also welcomed Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA). Ms. Clark was appointed to the Committee on April 1, 2014.
Ms. Clark said, “I’m honored to serve on a committee that is so vital to America’s future economic prosperity. Thousands of students, scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs in the Commonwealth are leading the nation in innovative research and emerging technologies. America has always been on the frontier of scientific and technological advances, and investments in these sectors will ensure our long-term competitiveness in a global economy.
“Energy research is not only a booming economic driver in our global economy, it is also our ticket to a cleaner, healthier planet. I’m eager to work with members of the Committee to strengthen our focus on clean and sustainable energy production.”
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